Blue Magnum lounge chairs by EstudiHac for Sancal.
Blue Magnum lounge chairs by EstudiHac for Sancal.

April 25, 2022

Words: Annie Block

Photography: Architekturfotografie Andreas J. Focke

Ippolito Fleitz Group–Identity Architects Creates a Vibrant Coffee Bar for Gen Zers in Munich

Young and dynamic. Straightforward yet detailed. That was the atmospheric goal—and result—for Ippolito Fleitz Group–Identity Architects at New Era, a coffee bar in Munich. Situated in the city’s Schwabing district, a vibrant student-populated neighborhood, Interior Design Hall of Fame members Gunter Fleitz and Peter Ippolito and their team strove to attract the Gen Z set starting from the street. Through the storefront’s glazing, passersby can catch glimpses of the rhythmic ceiling, a geometric landscape of gray, yellow, and teal cubes, actually printed and folded Forex boxes—a solution that’s at once chic, lightweight, and budget friendly. The energy continues to the wall-color palette, a spirited mix of lavender, peach, and royal blue, the latter reappearing on the café’s upholstered lounge chairs, placed in arrangements that suggest rooms within a room. Verdant live plants and barista workshops round out the 900-square-foot café, its offerings in step with its name.

Printed and folded cardboard boxes populate the ceiling at New Era coffee bar in Munich by Ippolito Fleitz Group–Identity Architects.
Printed and folded cardboard boxes populate the ceiling at New Era coffee bar in Munich by Ippolito Fleitz Group–Identity Architects.
Andrei Munteanu’s black Lhasa chairs for KFF and stained oak millwork.
Andrei Munteanu’s black Lhasa chairs for KFF and stained oak millwork.
Blue Magnum lounge chairs by EstudiHac for Sancal.
Blue Magnum lounge chairs by EstudiHac for Sancal.

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